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UN hopeful on Darfur peace force Sudan 'to accept UN Darfur force'
(about 12 hours later)
Outgoing UN chief Kofi Annan says he believes Sudan is about to approve the deployment of an African Union-UN force to curb the rising violence in Darfur. Outgoing UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has said he believes Sudan is set to approve the deployment of a joint UN-African Union force in Darfur.
Reports from Khartoum encouraged him to think the president would on Saturday back the move and a ceasefire, he said. Until now, President Omar al-Bashir has consistently opposed any involvement of the UN in the western region.
The US has warned Sudan it will face sanctions if it does not allow international peacekeepers by January. However, Sudanese officials say the government has now accepted the idea of a "hybrid" force of peacekeepers, including UN personnel.
Three years of fighting in Darfur have left at least 200,000 people dead and made another 2.5 million homeless. Fighting in Darfur has killed some 200,000 people since early 2003.
There are also fears that the fighting is destabilising Chad, home to hundreds of thousands of refugees and where there has been an upsurge in violence. More than two million have been displaced.
'So many disappointments' The conflict began when a rebellion by local groups triggered a counter-offensive by the army and government-backed Arab militias.
A UN envoy has been meeting Sudanese officials in a bid to end deadlock over UN peacekeepers for Darfur.
Q&A: Peacekeeping in DarfurQ&A: Peacekeeping in Darfur
Mr Annan said he had received encouraging reports from envoy Ahmadou Ould Abdallah, who had spoken to President Omar al-Bashir. Last week, the US warned Sudan it would face unspecified sanctions if it did not agree to an international peacekeeping force for Darfur by January.
Mr Annan made his comments after what he described as encouraging reports from his envoy, who had spoken to Mr Bashir.
The reports "encourage me to think we may tomorrow (Saturday) receive a green light from President Bashir", he said.The reports "encourage me to think we may tomorrow (Saturday) receive a green light from President Bashir", he said.
He said he also expected Mr Bashir to agree to a ceasefire and moves to restart talks with Darfur political groups. The outgoing UN chief added he also expected Mr Bashir to agree to a ceasefire and moves to restart talks with Darfur political groups.
But the outgoing UN chief added that he took nothing for granted after "so many disappointments". But he added that he took nothing for granted after "so many disappointments".
The UN has proposed that the weak AU force of 7,000 soldiers be bolstered with more money and equipment supplied by the UN, eventually merging with UN troops into a hybrid force. 'Supporting role'
But Mr Bashir has so far rejected calls for the involvement of UN peacekeepers. The BBC's Jonathan Beale says Sudan appears to have bowed to considerable international pressure.
He adds that there are still areas of contention - Sudan wants the AU to stay in command of the force, and Khartoum has not said how many UN troops will be allowed on the ground - but this does appear to be a step forward.
As of now it is still mainly the African troops, the African peacekeeping troops who are going to be the main ones handling the situation John Ucek, Sudanese ambassador in Washington
The UN had wanted to deploy an extra 20,000 peacekeepers to bolster the existing weak AU force of 7,000 soldiers.
The Sudanese ambassador in Washington, John Ucek, told the BBC that the UN force, whatever its size, would have a supporting role - and that the AU peacekeepers would be in charge.
"We had differences over three things - that is the command over the force, the nature of the force and the issue of the envoy. And these are the things we have cleared up now.
"The fact that we are going to have a UN peacekeeping force as a support to the AU peacekeeping force, there is no difference in our position.
"As of now it is still mainly the African troops, the African peacekeeping troops who are going to be the main ones handling the situation. The UN is still in support.
"Whatever their number is, they are still there to support the African Union peacekeeping force."
Violence has escalated sharply in Darfur in the last few weeks.
Late last week, the AU blamed the deteriorating security situation on the re-emergence of the pro-government Arab Janjaweed militias, and urged Khartoum to disarm the groups.
Aid agencies have withdrawn 250 workers this month, leaving many in Darfur vulnerable.